During a regular government meeting on October 7, Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) Nguyen Thi Hong stated that the SBV had directed financial institutions to review their financial situations and prepare necessary documents for the transfer of two "zero-dollar" banks.

The SBV is also working to finalize the restructuring plans for the other two weak banks in this group to report to the Prime Minister.

According to sources from VietNamNet, one of the banks set for transfer is OceanBank, which is nearing the completion of the required procedures for its transfer to Military Commercial Joint Stock Bank (MB). The other bank, CBBank, is expected to be transferred to Vietcombank under a mandatory transfer plan.

OceanBank and CBBank are expected to undergo their mandatory transfers in 2024 or 2025. At the 2024 Annual General Meeting of Vietcombank, CEO Nguyen Thanh Tung announced that the bank had finalized its proposal and submitted it to the SBV for approval, aiming for the transfer to take place within 2024. Vietcombank has developed specific measures to ensure a smooth and timely process.

While Vietcombank has not officially disclosed which bank it will receive under mandatory transfer, CBBank’s leadership previously confirmed that CBBank would be transferred to Vietcombank. Since 2015, Vietcombank has been providing technical support to CBBank, including loans of VND 10 trillion in 2022 and VND 6.7 trillion in 2023.

During the 2024 MB Bank Annual General Meeting, Chairman of the Board Luu Trung Thai expressed that the bank is "ready for the assigned task, only awaiting government approval." MB Bank leadership also revealed that they have completed the necessary procedures to take over a weak bank, expecting to finalize the transfer in 2024 or 2025.

High-ranking officials from MB Bank have participated in multiple business meetings at OceanBank, signaling their readiness for the transition.

Currently, four banks are undergoing restructuring under special supervision: OceanBank, GPBank, CBBank, and DongA Bank. In addition to these four, the SBV is also working on assessing and developing a restructuring plan for Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB), which has been under special supervision since October 2022.

Special supervision is a regulatory measure to closely monitor and limit negative impacts on the supervised bank and the banking system as a whole. Historically, several banks under special supervision have later recovered and thrived.

Tuan Nguyen